Public Creative Events and the Culture of Innovation

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Innovation is a challenging topic in a developing country such as China, which is facing rapid social transformation. It is significant to explore the approaches by which soft innovation can be activated and an innovative culture can be built through social and creative interaction.

Innovation is a challenging topic in a developing country such as China, which is facing rapid social transformation. It is significant to explore the approaches by which soft innovation can be activated and an innovative culture can be built through social and creative interaction. As culture has a direct impact on human behaviour, there is a link between how cultural initiatives can help build up an innovative culture and in turn influence the progression of innovative undertakings by inspiring its participants.

In China, many key government and corporate decision makers do not have the proper attitude toward these forms of soft innovation. This is primarily because they do not have the arts, design and innovation knowledge to understand the potential of the proposition, but also because of the weak value system which surrounds creativity and innovation. Making radical changes within the existing education and political system is not a pragmatic solution and attempting to grow an innovative culture through the influence of these institutions is unrealistic. Therefore, it is essential to look for solutions within the public domain and initiate change in the set power relations from that angle.

Creative events that are open to the public and not-for-profit events with an arts and design focused agenda can resolve this challenge. The social value created by such events arises by demonstrating and communicating the meaning of creativity and innovation to a diverse group of actors in society; educating, entertaining and inspiring people with art and creativity. The key elements of this social change include cross-disciplinary programming, active audience engagement, an integrated vision of globalisation and localisation, utilisation of social media and new technologies, networking and resource sharing. With this approach, the transformation of culture across industries and cities can be initiated, giving individuals and organisations a stronger connection through social movement.

The frequency of these types of events is growing globally. An example is the design festival that is now held in multiple international cities. At this time, it is important for organisers to explore an ecological and sustainable approach for their long-term development. However, the challenges reside in a number of key areas: the lack of long-term planning and event management professionals, insufficient investment and support, weak collaboration between the government and business community and lack of public participation.

Further research is needed into the specific social value created and the social impact of these public creative events, the management practices surrounding them, and the ways by which the public, business community and third sector participates interact and benefit from these events. Furthermore, a critical evaluation of the overall influence these events have on the greater community should be considered.